RISING FROM BELOW: THE FAMILIES OF ROMAN MUNICIPAL FREEDMEN AND SOCIAL MOBILITY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE by Jeffrey Adam Easton A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics University of Toronto © Copyright by Jeffrey Adam Easton 2019 RISING FROM BELOW: THE FAMILIES OF ROMAN MUNICIPAL FREEDMEN AND SOCIAL MOBILITY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE Jeffrey Adam Easton Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics University of Toronto 2019 Abstract This dissertation provides the first combined analysis of how Roman municipal freedmen and their descendants navigated the social, economic, and political landscape of imperial society. The municipal freedmen (liberti publici) had been owned and manumitted by towns in Italy, where they constituted the familia publica and performed many day-to-day functions for the municipal administration. They are not to be confused with freedmen of private individuals of local origin. Their status is often assumed to have conferred on the freedmen and their descendants a high degree of prestige that helped to advance their careers. The study first addresses two demographic issues in order to estimate the volume of municipal freedmen and descendants one can expect to document in the epigraphic record. A heterogeneous approach is employed to argue that the familia publica in most towns was small. The practice of manumitting slaves in the familia is also reconstructed in light of universal practices observed in other slave households. I propose that towns tended to be cautious in manumitting their slaves, especially those with technical skills. Next, the evidence for the municipal freedmen is analyzed. While some had the opportunity to forge links to the municipal elite and accumulate a large peculium that enhanced ii their social capital, they also lacked a personal patron whose financial backing and connections would have provided a push up the social ladder after manumission. Only a limited number of the freedmen known to us achieved any meaningful social or economic advancement. It is suggested that the lack of a patron made it difficult for most freedmen to break away from the familia publica and enter into other spheres of the local economy and social hierarchy. The study concludes by analyzing the activities of the municipal freedmen’s descendants across multiple generations. They, too, experienced only marginal success. A small number ascended to the senatorial or equestrian order or the ranks of the municipal elite, and another narrow segment joined local occupational and voluntary associations. Yet the vast majority never advanced socially or economically and are known to us as little more than a name on an epitaph. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is my pleasure to thank many people for their assistance in the completion of this dissertation. I owe my gratitude to two professors who contributed to my early education in Classics and Ancient History, Anthony Corbeill and Ronald Ferris. The Department of Classics at the University of Toronto has been very supportive during my graduate studies. I am particularly appreciative of the Norwood Traveling Fellowship, which allowed me to work in the library of the British School at Rome at a crucial period early in my research. I have also benefitted from the kindness and support of many friends and colleagues in the Department, not least Ben Akrigg, Boris Chrubasik, Alex Cushing, John Fabiano, David Wallace-Hare, and Drew Davis. I also cannot say thank you enough to the Department administrators Coral Gavrilovic and Ann-Marie Matti for their continuous help behind the scenes. The final version of the dissertation was greatly improved by the feedback and insights I received from Andreas Bendlin, Jonathan Edmondson, and Seth Bernard. I am grateful to John Bodel for his stimulating comments on the final draft of the dissertation. I am indebted most of all to Christer Bruun, my advisor, who guided this project from the seeds of an idea in a graduate seminar to its submission. His vast expertise and patient supervision throughout the process have been invaluable. I also want to thank him for providing a model of hard work and professionalism as a scholar and a teacher. Vorrei anche ringraziare i miei suoceri, Anna e Stefano, per avermi introdotto alla cultura italiana, e in particolare a quella romana. It is impossible for me to express my gratitude to my wife Cristiana (and our little puppy Hugo!). She is a selfless and constant source of support. I also want to thank my parents, Steve and Mamie. They first inspired my love of history and have encouraged me to pursue my passion ever since. I dedicate this dissertation to them. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures vii List of Appendices viii Introduction 1 0.1 The families of Roman municipal freedmen as a case-study of social mobility 7 Chapter I: Methodology 25 I.1.1 Methodology and organization of the epigraphic evidence 25 I.1.2 Identifying municipal freedmen and freedwomen 33 I.1.3 Identifying descendants and familiae 36 I.2.1 Roman onomastics and municipal freedmen 38 I.2.2 Possessing a municipal gentilicium 41 I.2.3 Identifying the most relevant municipal gentilicia for study 43 Chapter II: Demographic Background in the Municipal Familia Publica 53 II.1 The scope of municipal administration 53 II.2 Quantifying Roman manumission 72 II.3 Demography and the municipal familia publica 79 II.4.1 The practice of manumission in the municipal familia publica 98 II.4.2 Evidence for the municipal familia publica and theories of Roman manumission 113 II.5 Conclusions 121 Chapter III: Social Mobility and the Municipal Freedmen of Italian Towns 124 III.1 The secure and probable municipal freedmen 125 III.2 Settlement patterns 127 III.3 Marriage patterns 132 III.4.1 Membership in urban associations 136 III.4.2 The *Augustales 136 III.4.3 Professional and cultic associations 153 III.4.4 The familia publica as a professional association 164 III.5 Occupations 173 III.6 Conclusions 183 Chapter IV: Social Mobility and the Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 186 IV.1 Settlement patterns 189 IV.2 Municipal freedmen’s sons 195 IV.3.1 The descendants of municipal freedmen 205 IV.3.2 Senatorial order 205 IV.3.3 Equestrian order 218 IV.3.4 Municipal elite 229 IV.3.5 Roman army 246 IV.3.6 Urban associations, occupations, and role in the economy 257 IV.4 Conclusions 262 v Conclusion 265 Bibliography 271 Appendices I. Demographic Estimates of Select Cities in Italy 291 II. Catalogue of Secure Municipal Freedmen 292 III. Catalogue of Probable Municipal Freedmen 301 IV. Catalogue of Freeborn Children of Municipal Freedmen 315 V. Catalogue of Private Freedmen of Municipal Freedmen 317 VI. Catalogue of Freeborn Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 319 VII. Catalogue of Freedmen Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 339 VIII. Catalogue of Incerti Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 348 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 0.1 Municipal freedmen and their descendants from sites in Italy 17-20 Table II.1 Decrees by the municipal council of decurions of six select towns 65 Table II.2 Ages at death of municipal slaves 83-5 Table II.3 Ages at death of municipal freedmen and freedwomen 85-6 Table II.4 Status of children born from endogamous familia publica unions 90 Table III.1 Municipal freedmen and freedwomen 126 Table III.2 Settlement patterns of municipal freedmen and freedwomen 127 Table III.3 Marriage patterns of municipal freedmen and freedwomen 132 Table III.4 Secure and probable municipal freedmen who became *Augustales 140 Table III.5 Internal success rate of local gentes contributing to the *Augustales 145-6 Table III.6 Representation by local familiae among the *Augustales 147-8 Table III.7 Secure and probable municipal freedmen plumbarii 175-6 Table IV.1 Nomenclature and status of descendants 187 Table IV.2 Settlement patterns of freeborn children and ex-slaves 190-1 Table IV.3 Settlement patterns of descendants 193 Table IV.4 Municipal freedmen’s descendants in the senatorial order 208 Table IV.5 Municipal freedmen’s descendants in the equestrian order 219-20 Table IV.6 Municipal freedmen’s descendants in the ordo decurionum 231-3 Table IV.7 Representation by local familiae in the decurionate 243-4 Table IV.8 Descendants in the Roman legions 246-7 Table IV.9 Descendants in the Praetorian Cohorts 251-2 Table IV.10 Descendants in the Urban Cohorts 252 Table IV.11 Descendants in the Fifth Cohort of vigiles in Rome 255 Table IV.12 Descendants in the position of officinatores involved in brick production 260 Figure 0.1 Italian sites producing secure and probable municipal freedmen 21 Figure 0.2 Italian sites producing descendants of secure and probable municipal freedmen 22 Figure IV.1 Social and economic advancement of 464 male descendants 263 vii LIST OF APPENDICES I. Demographic Estimates of Select Cities in Italy 291 II. Catalogue of Secure Municipal Freedmen 292 III. Catalogue of Probable Municipal Freedmen 301 IV. Catalogue of Freeborn Children of Municipal Freedmen 315 V. Catalogue of Private Freedmen of Municipal Freedmen 317 VI. Catalogue of Freeborn Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 319 VII. Catalogue of Freedmen Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 339 VIII. Catalogue of Incerti Descendants of Municipal Freedmen 348 viii INTRODUCTION There are few areas in the study of Roman history and culture in which the researcher is not confronted with the theme of social mobility. Whether one looks at the ancient evidence from a philological standpoint, from a legal framework, or from an archaeological perspective, questions about upward or downward social and economic movement frequently lie below the surface. While the hierarchical social strata of Roman imperial society remained rigid, opportunities for upward mobility were often available, under the right conditions and with the right patronage connections.1 One social group that has persistently fascinated scholars in this context consists of ex-slaves and their families.